Escape from the Nightmares
by Brony and the Hetalian
Summary: The incident with the Kotori Obake has been resolved and Shiori thought that everything would be alright from then on. She could live a normal life alongside Suga. But her mind isn't able to let go so easily.
1. Chapter 1

Giggling, innocent and sweet, woke Shiori up. She sat up groggily and almost instantly realized that she was in her room back home. There was her familiar white desk, cleared of everything that had once been on it. And her bookshelves filled with manga, magazines, and books she had when she was still in high school. When Shiori glanced down at the foot of her bed, she noticed the stuffed animals on the floor, covered in a fine layer of dust. It was all like how she had left it when she went off to Azakawa Village.

"When did I got back?" Shiori wondered out loud, her voice thick with sleep. She rubbed her eyes, but that didn't help much. Her body felt heavy, sluggish, and her eyelids drooped. The brown haired girl slipped out from underneath her blankets, carefully placing her bare feet on the wooden floor boards. It was much smoother than the floor at the museum, newer even. Shiori took note of this with a hint of sadness and loneliness.

That's when the giggling began again, but this time with an undertone of children wailing.

Shiori froze as fear crawled up her spine. The giggles and cries were all too familiar to her. They brought with them unpleasant memories, ones that Shiori thought she had gotten over. Now those terrifying memories were resurfacing all over again.

Shooting out of her bed, Shiori turned towards the window and pressed her face against the glass. She frantically searched the entire back yard for any signs of ghostly spirits but saw nothing of the sort. The night sky was clouded over and a drizzle of rain had started some time ago, making her line of vision limited. The streaks of water that lined the window pane gave Shiori the impression of tear drops. Dread caused Shiori to pale for this type of weather brought her no comfort.

The giggling continued, increasing in volume and intensity. When Shiori pressed in her ears to muffle the noise and found that it didn't help, she felt uncontrollable panic bubble up her throat. Before it got the better of her, Shiori shook herself and smacked the sides of her face with both hands. "Calm down, Shiori, this isn't the time to lose yourself!" she mumbled shakily. The brown haired girl took a few consecutive breaths, successfully suppressing the urge to scream. With some semblance of control returning, Shiori walked to the door as quietly as she could.

It might be the middle of the night, but she had to leave her house. Maybe she could spend the night at a friend's house. Shiori didn't know how the spirits got to her parent's home, she thought that they has all been purified back in Azakawa village. But since they were here, free from Azakawa forest...what did that mean for Suga?

Shiori shuddered at all the possible fates that could have befallen her most important person, none of which were good. Instead of thinking about things she didn't know, Shiori concentrated on getting her bedroom door open. "No…" she whispered, nearly sobbing when she tried to open the door only to find it locked from the other side. All of a sudden, the back of her neck began to prickle with unease. Something was behind her, something dark and twisted. And then it was as if the giggling was coming from inside Shiori's mind.

Don't turn around. Don't turn around! Don't. Turn. Around! Her mind kept screaming warnings at her. Shiori remembered the deformed spirits, crying out for the loneliness to end. Her lungs tightened exactly how it did when she ran from the hostile spirits. The blood and gore from within the caves flashed before her eyes, the pain and tragedy that accompanied the visions struck her.

The last thing her mind focused on was the sight of Suga's back, as he stood before an army of spirits with his katana in hand. Shiori re-lived the terror from that moment, the possibility that she might never see the man she loved again. She ignored the warning bells in her mind and slowly turned to face the childlike spirit.

Pitch black eyes stared back at her, void of nearly all emotions except for hatred and pain. Shiori's blood ran cold at the sight of the spirit so close to her. Her back hit the door and she slid down it when the strength in her legs dissipated. Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling over when she realized how trapped she was. A scream rose up in her throat, threatening to come out, but fear kept it inside.

The giggles and wails only intensified as the vengeful spirit floated closer. It's soulless eyes consumed Shiori, the exact same eyes that always haunted her nightmares.

Just as the ghost reached for her, Shiori managed to release the scream, "Suga-kun!"

**NO ESCAPE**

Shiori woke up right after that.


	2. Chapter 2

Shiori shot up out of bed and fell onto the floor with a loud thud. She lay on the cool ground, stomach down, and her heart beating a mile a minute. The coldness from the old floorboards of the museum felt nice on Shiori's heated skin as she heaved a huge sigh of relief. She was back at the museum, safe and sound. Moonlight filtered through the window, casting a square of light around her. No drizzling rain, no childlike laughter or wails. Memories of recent events rushed into her mind, bringing her back to reality. The spirits had successfully been put to rest, the Kotori Obake was reunited with her child, and Shiori had decided to remain by Suga-kun's side.

"It was all just a dream," Shiori whispered, trying to calm herself down. But no matter what she thought, the black eyes that were filled with such anger did not leave her. "Don't be such a scaredy cat, Shiori," she reprimanded herself. Though that didn't stop her entire body from shaking like a leaf in the wind.

The brown haired girl chose to stay on the floor until her heart returned to a normal beating rate. She squeezed her eyes shut, but they flew open as images flashed behind her eyelids. With her ear to the ground, Shiori heard and also felt the vibrations of loud footsteps approaching her room. They were frantic and moving with haste.

Before she could get off the ground, the door to her bedroom was abruptly kicked in with great force. Suga stood in the doorway, his expression one of determination and concern. He spotted Shiori lying on the floor and hurried to her, immediately falling to his knees right next to her. His hands hovered over her body, fear now evident in his eyes. It was clear that he didn't know what was wrong or what he should do, but he had to try something.

"Shii...chan?" Suga questioned weakly. His voice came out sounding rough and scratchy. It was only recently that he had gotten his voice back, so using it was a struggle for him.

Shiori, with some assistance from Suga, peeled herself off the floorboards and into a sitting position. "I'm alright, Suga-kun. I only fell out of bed," she reassured him as she attempted to suppress the quiver that shook her body. But nothing escaped his sharp eyes.

Suga slipped a pencil and his memo pad out of his pocket and began writing on it. Even with his voice back, he continued to use the pad of paper to convey his words to others. The memo pad had been his mode of communication for a majority of his life. It would be unreasonable and cruel to ask him to change that overnight. Suga ripped the slip of paper and handed it to Shiori.

_Are you okay?_

Shiori read the note and then looked up at Suga, he was still taller even when kneeling. The tension in her body started to fade away just from seeing and feeling the concern that emanated off him. She smiled gently at him. "Suga-kun, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong."

In response to her words, Suga brought his hand closer to her face and caught a stray tear that had been sliding down her cheek unnoticed. He held the finger up with the drop of water for her to see. With his free hand, the darkly dressed man speedily scribbled another note and gave it to her.

_You were crying._

The brown haired girl scrambled to wipe away the wetness from her cheeks. She hastily erased the evidence of having cried, embarrassed that she was seen in such a condition. "It's nothing. Something got into my eye and the tears came as I was trying to get it out." Suga grimaces and gestured to his first note to her insistently. Shiori sighed and opened her mouth to repeat her reassurances to him once more, but a new note set onto her lap stopped her.

_The truth._

His serious expression told her that he wasn't going to accept anything other than exactly that. Realizing this, Shiori's shoulders slumped with defeat. "No...I'm not okay. But I will be," she quickly added. Shiori didn't want to worry Suga.

_What happened?_

He gave her the no nonsense look again. "It...was a nightmare," she finally admitted, as she curled into herself. "I was back in my parent's house, but I wasn't alone." Shiori squeezed her body tighter and looked at Suga with eyes full of terror. "_They_ were there." The trembling that had gone away earlier returned in full force, causing her entire being to quake. "They were...so...close..."

Suga studied Shiori with worry, then turned his gaze to the interior of her room. His face had become increasingly paler that it contrasted with his black clothes and hair more so than usual. After inspecting the room and finding nothing out of the ordinary, the darkly dressed man scooted closer to Shiori and hesitantly placed an arm around her. "You're...safe here, Shii-chan. I will always protect you."

Warmth spread throughout Shiori's chest from Suga's actions and words. Not only that, her face also reddened almost immediately and she turned into Suga's shoulder to hide it from him. "Thank you, Suga-kun," she mumbled into his shirt. In this position, Shiori could smell Suga's familiar scent and it comforted her. After several seconds, Shiori peeked through her bangs at the darkly dressed man and giggled inwardly at his own rosy cheeks. The brown haired girl noticed that Suga had stiffened when she had moved her face closer to him and he was unsure of how to react.

He opened and closed his mouth, as if he were trying to find the words to say something. But Suga soon gave up since he returned to using paper and pencil. When he handed Shiori this memo, his face was still bright pink and his eyes kept shifting between her and some random object in the room.

_Would you like some tea?_

"Tea sounds perfect right now," Shiori replied with a small smile. "But only if you let me make it."


	3. Chapter 3

Neither Shiori nor Suga got much sleep that night. They stayed up through the darkest part till the sky began to lighten, talking and comforting one another. Whenever their tea got cold, they made another pot. And more than a few kettles of tea ended up being made. Shiori spoke most of the time but Suga made an effort to use his voice when he could. The two told stories from the time they spent away from each other. As they were finishing off their last pot of tea, Shiori took note of how few stories Suga had shared.

It was just approaching the early morning hours when Shiori told Suga to go and get a few more hours of sleep.

_Will you do that same?_

Suga wrote on the note that he handed to her from across the kitchen table. Even when exhausted, he still worried about her. Shiori opened her mouth to respond only for a lengthy yawn to cut her off. She blushed once the yawn had passed and sheepishly answered his question, "I'll try, but I can't promise anything." It was the best thing she could tell him while keeping to the honesty policy.

Suga didn't seem all too satisfied with her answer, but he didn't argue with her either. It had to be because of the yawn. He now knew that Shiori was just as tired and figured she would be knocked out the second her head touched the pillow. As the corner of his lips twitched upwards, he picked up the tea mugs from the table and started for the sink. He had planned to wash them out, but Shiori was quick to stop him.

"Give those to me, I can clean them." She took the mugs from his hands and walked the rest of the way to the sink. "You should really get some more sleep while you can. Isn't Officer Mochizuki coming by in a couple of hours to talk with you?" The brown haired girl turned the sink's knob and water came streaming out. It filled the mugs swiftly and soon enough they were overflowing. When Shiori didn't hear any movement behind her, she peered over her shoulder.

The darkly clothed man stood exactly in the same spot, not having moved an inch. His eyebrows were scrunched together and his face was clouded over with a troubled expression. He stared at the dining table for a few seconds and then did the same with the door leading out of the kitchen. Suga grimaced as he tried to decide whether to stay or go. "But...I..."

"Suga-kun," Shiori started and Suga lifted his head towards her. She twisted the rest of her body around to face him and rested her hands on her hips. The smile on her lips was soft. Her childhood friend fretting over her made Shiori feel cared about, but she wasn't about to let Suga ruin his health because of that. "Go to sleep. I'm fine now, honest." Along with her last words, Shiori held up a hand and placed it on her heart.

Suga hesitated for a little longer, his eyes shined with concern for Shiori. With a deep sigh of resignation, he nodded and wrote a final memo. He set it on the table and left the kitchen with one last worried glance at her. The moment the door creaked closed and Suga was gone, the temperature in the room dropped several degrees. Shiori glanced around her cautiously, but instantly snapped herself out of it. To distract herself, She rotated the piece of paper till she was able to read it.

_If you need me, just call. I'll always immediately come to your rescue._

Shiori held the note close to her, squeezing it tightly. This little slip of paper gave off a sense of security. With it, Shiori knew she was safe. The brown haired girl shook her head, placed the memo down and returned to cleaning the mugs. Cold water splashed on her arms and goosebumps rose from where the liquid touched. Shiori picked up the dish soap located next to the faucet and squirted some onto a wet cloth. Scrubbing the ceramic mugs took a few minutes and ended with sleeves of bubbles and squeaky clean cups. Shiori washed off the bubbles and then spun the knob so that the water flow was cut off. She grabbed a dishrag from the counter to dry everything off with. As she dried her hands and the mugs, a sudden chill ran up and down her spine. Now the goosebumps were caused by a completely different reason.

There's nothing there, it's just overactive nervous, Shiori thought to herself. Silence reigned over the kitchen and each small sound was amplified. Her slight intakes of air sounded like loud panting and each strike of the clock's second hand was like a gong being hit. After hastily finishing with the mugs, Shiori put them in the lower cupboard. Before the door was altogether shut, one of the two freshly cleaned mugs tipped off the shelf and crashed onto the floor.

"Ah!" Shiori, startled by the racket, cried out. The moment after she made the noise, Shiori clamped down hard on her lips and held her breath.

Seconds passed slowly as Shiori waited, frozen where she stood. When it became clear that Suga wouldn't be bursting through the kitchen door, blade at ready, she released the air from her lungs. If he had come in and seen the broken glass, then he would have assumed that she had lied to him about being okay. Convincing him to go to bed would be impossible after that.

She bent down and noticed that the mug that had shattered was the one she had used for tea. The cold temperature became really noticeable right then. Shiori sucked in her next breath through her teeth. Fear nudged at the edge of her consciousness, but she shoved it away. "It was only a coincidence, nothing more," the brown haired girl declared vehemently to the empty room. Although, in the back her mind, a seed of doubt sprouted.


	4. Chapter 4

"I...I need to clean this up," Shiori opted to focus on instead of the strange coincidence.

There were several large pieces of glass along with hundreds of slivers scattered on the floor. The larger fractions could be easily picked up by hand, and that's what Shiori did. She scooped up as many of the scraps as she could, which ended up being everything except one, and carried them to the trash bin. They made a soft thud as the pieces upon hitting the bottom. Shiori gazed at the mug remnants with an unsettling feeling but ignored it and returned to the mess. As she wrapped her hand around the remaining shard, the jagged edge ebbed itself into her palm. Pain exploded from the entry point and Shiori sharply sucked in air.

Blood swelled up from the wound and slid down her wrist in multiple directions. Shiori panicked when it dripped from her elbow to the ground, staining the tile crimson. Memories of the gorey jail cells in the cave assaulted her senses. It suddenly became very difficult to breath. Shiori gasped weakly as she fumbled for the dishrag from earlier. The second she found it, she pressed it against the cut. The constricting feeling faded and Shiori gulped down huge breaths of air.

A burning sensation began to spread from her palm and Shiori rushed to put her hand underneath water. She watched, with squinted eyes, the blood color the liquid red as it went down the drain. At first, the stream of water made the cut throb painfully, but soon after the frigid cold numbed the skin. When all the blood was washed away, Shiori turned the faucet off. She put pressure on the wound when beads of red popped up again.

"The bleeding isn't slowing," Shiori whispered worriedly. "I need to find something to wrap this up." Right then, she remembered Suga showing her on the first full day she was here where the first aid kit was located. "There should be one in the bathroom…"

With the rag still in place, Shiori quickly made her way to the closest door. Once open, she flicked the light switch and expected a flood of fluorescent light to appear. It didn't.

She took hold of the switch and moved it up and down, hoping that the light would come on. When nothing happened, it dawned on Shiori that the light wasn't going to work. "I-It has to be a b-burnt out bulb," she stuttered while reasoning with herself. Swallowing her fear, Shiori felt her way to the cupboard in the back. Even with the door open, the bathroom was only dimly lit.

Shiori shuffled forward until her fingertips brushed against a wooden edge. Bending down, she rifled through the cupboard's contents till she found the medical box. It was a small container but weighed down with everything in it. She also knew that there was another kit located on the same floor and a few others on the second and third.

The brown haired girl thought back to the time Suga told her the reason why there were so many. Making blue stone jewelry and fighting the children spirits could get pretty dangerous. At the beginning of his training, Suga ended up getting a multitude of cuts and bruises. The number of wounds had diminished since then, but even now he still got a few from time to time. First aid kits were spread around the mansion so that Suga would be close to one no matter where he was.

From the box, Shiori took out a can of disinfectant and a roll of bandages and then returned the container to the cupboard. She looked at the two items and decided it'd be best to apply first aid in the kitchen where she could actually see what she was doing. As Shiori was standing up, she glimpsed into the mirror and froze. Right in the doorway, shifting and floating, was a child's spirit. It didn't approach her or speak, it just remained in that one spot. Shiori spun around and gasped when there was nothing there.

"My mind's exhausted...so I'm probably just seeing things right now," she reasoned, but her voice shook. "I should finish up already and listen to my own advice about getting sleep."The brown haired girl exited the bathroom, carrying the medical items under her arms, and softly shut the door behind her. Without pausing, she sat down at the dining table and peeled the rag off the cut. Some blood still seeped from the wound, but the extent of damage was easy to see. The gash ran from the top left corner of her palm to the bottom right, raw and angry looking.

It was difficult to open the can of disinfectant with one hand, so Shiori used her teeth and the lid came off with a pop. Spraying the exposed wound stung and she flinched from the pain. Once the medicine was applied, and before it dried, Shiori wrapped the bandages snuggly around her hand. The pristine white cloth stood out plainly against her skin. Suga was sure to notice the new fashion choice and question it.

"Right now I need to finish cleaning the shattered cup," Shiori stated, focusing on the things that she could control. She used the dirty rag to pick up the remaining glass fragment and toss it away. With the little slivers, the brown haired girl took a brush and swept them onto a pan and into the trash. Lastly, she wiped the puddles of blood from the ground with a clean corner of the dishrag before trying to wash it out. The cloth was still tinted pink even after having washed it thoroughly several times. "This is just not coming out…"

Shiori debated about either throwing it in the trash or keeping it to try again later. In the end, she settled on keeping the rag in her room and look up ways to remove blood stains in the morning. The clock struck 5 then and Shiori realized she had spent more than an hour in the kitchen since Suga left.

With the dishrag clutched in her hand, she tiptoed out of the kitchen and paused in the reception area. The door to Suga's office was closed and all was quiet within. "Hopefully he's asleep and not pacing around in his room," Shiori whispered while moving towards the stairs. "Then again, he would have heard the mug break if he was still awake." It took a few minutes to reach her room, and when she did she closed the door and fell onto the bed. Her eyelids were so heavy that she had trouble keeping them open. But now that Shiori was in her bed, she no longer had to fight it. She drifted off into a dreamless sleep, her mind accepting the darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

Upon waking up, Shiori discovered the morning sun beaming strongly into her room. It not only put her heart and mind at ease, but also gave the world a yellow hue. It felt like only a few minutes had gone by since she fell into the darkness that is slumber, but, in reality, it had been several hours. The clock on her phone read 10:30 am, way past her normal wake up call at 8:30. Being able to sleep in this late was odd since Suga would always come up and wake her if she slept in. He'd do so by standing outside her room and knocking on the door until she responded. But the only sounds she heard were the birds chirping outside in the trees.

Sitting up sluggishly, Shiori stretched her arms over her head and yawned. She cried out suddenly when her nails unconsciously dug into the bandaged up cut. The pain reminded her of what had occurred and that sent shivers throughout her body. She brought the wrapped hand closer for an inspection, careful not to disturb the wound again. There were spots of dried blood on the cloth, a sure sign that she needed to change it. Shiori tried to recall where the first aid kit was on the third floor, but she was pulling a blank. That meant she'd have to go past Suga to the kit on the first floor. He'll surely see the wrapping and jump to worst conclusion...

"He's just that much of a worrywart…" the brown haired girl mumbled as she lifted the bed sheets off her.

When she peered around, more alert than earlier, she spied a slip of familiar memo paper on the table. Shiori slid her body off the bed and stumbled to the note. Before she bent down to read it, Shiori cautiously surveyed her room again. This time she was specifically searching for any wandering spirits. The events that had transpired hours ago had shook her up that badly. She wasn't about to let her guard down just yet, not when there was a possibility that the children's spirits still remained.

A couple minutes passed without something happening and the room remained clear of anything supernatural. Shiori finally allowed herself to relax a little. She leaned against the edge of the table with her uninjured hand and read Suga's neat handwriting.

_Let you sleep in. Will make you breakfast when you come down._

She skimmed the note once and then a second time, reading between the lines. Suga had come into her room, seen her fast asleep, and let her continue sleeping.

A blush worked its way on her cheeks when she thought about how she must have appeared. Upon realizing that, she patted her hair to make sure it wasn't sticking out in weird places. Shiori let out a long breath of air in relief when she didn't feel anything out of place. But as soon as that dilemna passed, another one took it's spot.

Had she been drooling while she slept?

Shiori frantically rubbed the corners of her mouth but didn't find any traces of dried drool. She was in the clear for that too. With all her worries put to rest, Shiori spent a few minutes changing into her everyday clothes. Even with the injury, everything was relatively easy to put on. The only troublesome thing was when she was tying the ribbon in her hair. Every time one of her fingers brushed against the bandage, Shiori would flinch and lose the bow she was making. It was after the third attempt that she chose not to wear the orange hair piece today.

"Well then, I think it's about time I went downstairs," Shiori affirmed, the nightmarish night already becoming a distant memory. She left her room, humming, and headed to the stairs.

Halfway down the second set of steps, the brown haired girl started to hear sounds of arguing. They became louder the closer she got to the reception area. Once there, she saw Sakuma standing in the middle of the library with her arms crossed in front of her. The middle schooler was glaring at Officer Mochizuki, who was rubbing the back of his head in frustration.

"Sakuma-san, you know your parents aren't exactly happy that you're still coming here after what happened that day," Officer Mochizuki explained to the young girl.

Sakuma turned her head and huffed. "I don't care, I'm not letting them take my only safe haven away." Officer Mochizuki opened his mouth to reply, but right then Sakuma noticed Shiori standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Onee-san!"

Shiori walked to the duo, quickly hiding her wounded hand behind her back, and smiled. "Good morning Sakuma, Officer Mochizuki."

"Mornin'," the older man responded, grinning. "Although, I don't think it can be considered morning anymore, kid."

Sakuma returned to glaring at Mochizuki. "If Onee-san says it's morning, then it's morning." When she looked back at Shiori, her expression immediately softened back into a smile. "Onee-san, I was worried when I came in and didn't see you here."

The brown haired girl flushed but managed to keep the embarrassment from showing. "I'm sorry for worrying you, I was still asleep."

"That's what the manager told me when he stopped me from going up to see you." The middle schooler took out a slip of paper and handed it to Shiori. "He gave me this." On it were words that discouraged venturing to the third floor.

Officer Mochizuki patted the back of her back good-naturedly. "Rough night?" He asked with concern.

Shiori's smile faltered. "You...could say that," she quietly said. Sakuma must have noticed the pause in her words because she gave the brown haired girl a puzzling look. Shiori switched subjects to avoid having to discuss the nightmare. "Where is Suga-kun?"

The middle schooler frowned, but she flicked her head towards the office door. "He's in there, Onee-san."

"Thank you," Shiori replied, relieved that she successfully dodged the topic. She turned towards that room then realized an important detail. Shiori regarded Mochizuki. "Officer Mochizuki, didn't you come here today to question Suga-kun?"

The older man chuckled as he shook his head. "That was my goal, but Suga-kun was too distracted for me to get any real answers." His grin grew wider with his next words. "He was probably too busy thinking about a certain sleeping beauty."

Shiori couldn't hide the blush that came from the officer's comment. "I-I should go see Suga-kun and tell him I'm awake then." She hurried to the office and rushed through the door, nearly slamming it shut. The brown haired girl slumped against the wood and sighed. Her face still felt hot when she pressed her hands against her cheeks.

"Shii-chan...?" a shaky voice questioned softly. Shiori slowly lifted her head and found Suga by his computer, watching her with confused yet worried eyes. She swallowed hard, not having prepared herself to talk with her childhood friend. Now how could Shiori explain her behavior to him?


	6. Chapter 6

"Suga-kun! Um...G-good morning!" Shiori fumbled with her words and ended up just saying the first thing that came to mind. She watched Suga slowly stand from his chair, his eyes focused on her. With his serious expression and sharp gaze trained on her, the brown haired girl began to think that he'd already seen her bandaged hand. She clenched her uninjured hand in anxiety as he shuffled around.

But instead of questioning her like she thought he would, Suga cleared his throat and blushed. "Good morning," he whispered loud enough for her to hear from across the office. Maybe he didn't see the wound after all. Her fist relaxed.

Suga took out his notepad and wrote something down as he approached Shiori. Normally she'd be happy for the close contact, but now it only made her more nervous. At this distance, her childhood friend had a better chance of seeing what she didn't want him to. When Suga was arms length away, he gave her the note.

_Your face is red. Do you have a fever?_

The note baffled Shiori. But then again, Suga would see a flushed face as a fever. She shook her head and smiled. "No, I don't have a fever. Something Mochizuki said made me feel a little embarrassed." Remembering the officer's words caused Shiori's face to go red all over again as another slip of paper was handed to her.

_What did he say to you?_

There was a frown on Suga's face after she had told him that. Shiori wasn't sure why it was there, but she didn't like it when her childhood friend was unhappy. Still, she was reluctant to tell him the exact words. "Just some nonsense, nothing important. I'll tell you the details later, alright?" Suga narrowed his eyes for a split second then closed them all the way. His entire face seemed to relax as he stood there. The brown haired girl, unsure of what was going on, decided to change the direction of the conversation. "Anyway, did you sleep well?"

Suga's eyes snapped open, seemingly surprised at her inquiry. "I...s-slept well." He fidgeted with the notepad in his hands. He must be thinking about whether to use the paper or his voice to speak next. "What about y-you?" Suga chose his voice to ask the question.

"You'll be happy to know that I slept with not a single bad dream. The second I was in my bed, I couldn't keep my eyes open." Shiori laughed at that. She felt happiness bubble up in her chest when she saw Suga's shy smile. As her laughter died down, the brown haired girl thought it was a good time for her to thank him for what he did. "Thank you for letting me sleep in, and also for staying up late with me." Shiori's heated up again, but she ignored it.

The darkly dressed man nodded in acceptance of her gratitude. "You're welcome. I'm glad...that nothing happened." His voice became quieter towards the end of his sentence, so he switched to his memo pad.

_Would you like breakfast?_

Before Shiori could respond in the affirmative, her stomach growled loudly. Shiori and Suga stared at each other with equally bewildered looks. "I guess that answers that," she said between giggles.

The expression on Suga's face was so full of caring and fondness for Shiori that she stopped giggling and gazed at him in wonderment. When he noticed her staring, her childhood friend blushed like crazy and his handwriting on the next note was shaky.

_I can make pancakes for you._

Shiori's face lit up at the prospect of delicious pancakes topped with maple syrup, if she helped make them that is. She threw up both her arms and cheered rather loudly. When Shiori looked back at Suga, she took in his shocked expression and widened eyes. And noticed that he was staring straight at her bandaged up hand.

The brown haired girl whipped her hand behind her back in an attempt to hide it from him. But the effort was futile. Suga had already gotten a clear look at it and he wasn't happy.

The shock melted away to confusion and anger as he furiously scribbled on the paper and thrust it at her.

_What was that?_

"Nothing," Shiori mumbled stubbornly. It probably wasn't the best thing she should have said, because Suga's face darkened even further than it had.

_Show me._

Perhaps shaking her head also wasn't very good, but the brown haired girl did it anyway. Faster than she could keep track of, Suga seized her arm and dragged it out into the open. Shiori cried out when his grip became too tight. "Suga-kun...it hurts." The darkly dressed man loosened his hold, but he didn't let go.

Suga flipped her hand over so that he saw the dried blood splotches in the middle of Shiori's palm. His frown deepened when he caught sight of the rusty red. "What...is this?" His voice sounded hoarse and strained from repressing his outrage.

Shiori turned her head away, not wanting to see the anger in Suga's eyes. "Please, Suga-kun, it really is nothing serious." There was a sharp intake of breath from Suga's direction and then his grip on her hand vanished. For a second, Shiori thought that he was going to drop the subject. She was completely wrong.

In the next instance, Suga took hold of Shiori's upper arm and towed her out of the office and to the kitchen. Even if Shiori had wanted to resist him, she couldn't since his grip was too strong. He ignored Mochizuki's surprised look and Sakuma's angry protests as he continued forward. Suga slammed the kitchen door open and pulled the brown haired girl to the dining table, plopping her down onto one of the chairs. The darkly dressed man gave her a sharp look, his silent way of saying stay, and then moved into the bathroom.

Just outside the doorway, Mochizuki was restraining Sakuma who was struggling against him wildly. Shiori smiled reassuringly at the middle schooler, but it didn't feel very convincing even to herself. But it did the trick because Sakuma stopped fighting against Mochizuki and instead looked at her with worry.

Suga returned before a minute had gone by, first aid kit in one hand. He sat down next to Shiori and gestured for her to put the injured hand in front of him. She hesitated for a second, until she saw his hardened expression.

The cloth around her palm was unraveled to reveal the long gash underneath. It appeared much healthier than it did last night, but it still wasn't pretty to look at. Blood no longer seeped from the cut and a scab had formed over a majority of the wound. Suga's face as he inspected Shiori's palm could only be described as pained. Tears filled his eyes and spilled over the edge in small rivulets. Shiori used her uninjured hand to try and wipe away his tears, but she could only do so much in her current position. "Suga-kun...please don't cry."

"H-how is this not serious? You're...hurt." His voice shook with emotion which made it harder to understand him, but the brown haired girl pieced it together.

She gazed from her palm to the crying man. "It was an accident, Suga-kun. One of the tea mugs fell out of the cupboard and shattered on the floor. I wasn't thinking while cleaning up the mess and cut myself on a shard of broken glass." Suga's tears didn't stop, although they did slow down.

Out of the blue, he lifted Shiori's hand and grazed his lips against the cut. His breath fanned over her skin and made it tingle warmly. A tear dropped on to the side of her palm and quickly slid off. Even though it was gone, Shiori still felt the water droplet's presence. "I'm...sorry," Suga sobbed after he pulled his lips away from the wound. "I promised to protect you...and I failed."


	7. Chapter 7

The kitchen was quiet while Suga applied another layer of disinfectant to Shiori's raw cut. He was so careful with her, his touch being feather light. The fact that he had kissed her palm a couple minutes ago had apparently not registered in his mind yet. Sniffles from the darkly dressed man broke the silence every now and then. Shiori watched him work on her hand, mulling over his last words. He was so focused on keeping her safe that he ended up being too harsh on himself when something went wrong. She had to show him that his promise had already been fulfilled. That he had not failed in anyway.

"Suga-kun…" the brown haired girl murmured. Her childhood friend didn't react to the softly spoken words and his attention remained on her hand. He finished with the disinfectant and moved on to rewrapping the wound with fresh bandages. "Suga-kun!" she said a bit louder. Suga's hands stopped what they were doing, but he kept his face downturned. Tears prickled behind Shiori's eyes, though she refused to let them show. "A-are-" she cut herself off when her words started to come out broken. After she swallowed and took a few deep breathes, she tried once more. "Are you angry with me?"

She must not have masked the emotion in her voice well enough because Suga's head shot up. The last of his tears clung to his eyelashes, accented by the kitchen lights. Shiori wanted to brush them away, but she resisted the urge and kept her free hand in her lap. She waited, hoping that Suga will talk to her using his voice. He didn't. The darkly dressed man had obviously brought his memo pad from his office with him.

_I'm disappointed and upset._

Shiori's shoulders slumped as she felt a large weight press on them. "With me?"

Suga paused, looked at her with an expression akin to shame, and then wrote more down.

_With you, but mainly with myself._

The last part made something inside Shiori snap. For the first time, Shiori got mad at Suga. "You have no reason to be disappointed in yourself, Suga-kun! I can understand me, but not you!" The brown haired girl stood up angrily, ignoring the loose bandages coming undone. "What could you have done? Tell me." Suga stared at Shiori in shock, his jaw slackened. He struggled to recover himself and pointed to her vacant chair, but Shiori refused to sit back down. "Tell me," she repeated.

A couple minutes passed with the two just regarding each other. "Just tell Onee-san already!" Sakuma shouted from the doorway. It surprised Shiori that the middle schooler was restraining herself so successfully. Or Mochizuki had a very good grip on her.

The darkly dressed man sent a glare in the young girl's direction, silencing anything Sakuma had been planning to say after that. He pushed his next note across the table.

_I could have stayed with you._

Shiori frowned as she read the slip of paper. "I wouldn't have let you, you know that."

_Or stayed awake until I knew you were asleep._

"Suga-kun...you couldn't have predicted that something like that would happen." The brown haired girl slowly lowered herself into her seat and looked at Suga pleadingly. When he started writing on the notepad, she placed both her hands over his. "The cut on my hand isn't your fault, so please stop beating yourself over it."

Suga's eyes focused on her hands that were still on his, his cheeks tinted pink. "Why...didn't you call for me, Shii-chan?" Suga mumbled, his face remaining flushed. "I-I said you should get me if something happened."

She withdrew her hands from his, missing the long breath he released when she did. Suga began fixing her wrapping when his cheeks returned to a normal color. "I'm sorry, I thought I could handle it myself," Shiori explained. She normally didn't get that angry, so it had sapped the little energy she had.

"D-did anything else happen?"

Shiori was silent for several seconds, thinking about how to word her thoughts properly. "I...saw something in the bathroom mirror while getting the first aid kit," she started, recalling the events that happened early that morning. "It looked exactly like one of the children's spirits. But when I turned around, it was gone." The wrapping was nearly done by then. "It had to have been a mixture of my dream along with exhaustion that caused me to see it."

Suga double checked his handy work with her hand bandages and nodded when he deemed it satisfactory. When Shiori's explanation came to the children's spirits, a grimace stretched itself across his face. After he put away the medical supplies, Suga scribbled something onto his memo pad and stood up. Instead of giving it to Shiori, as she expected, he strode past her. She turned her head and watched him go to the doorway. He handed the note to a confused looking Mochizuki. The darkly dressed man sent one last fleeting look over his shoulder before he left the room.

Shiori leapt out of the chair, intent on following him, but a wave of nausea suddenly overcame her. She wobbled forwards, not giving up, until her legs gave out and she plopped down on the ground. Shiori's brain felt like a fuzzy mess and her line of sight narrowed to a single point. Static filled her ears, blocking out all other noises. She didn't know how much time had passed when she realized someone was calling her name frantically.

"Onee-san!" Sakuma was in front of her, shaking her shoulders. Mochizuki was slightly behind her with an equally worried expression. "Onee-san, are you okay?!" The middle schooler had this look of panic as she shook Shiori one last time. "Do you realize that you fainted?"

The brown haired girl blinked, clearing her blurry vision. "S-sorry, I must have stood up too quickly while-" her words were cut off when her stomach growled a second time that morning. Officer Mochizuki bursted out laughing when the noise quieted down and the surprise wore off.

"You're hungry," Mochizuki stated with a chuckle. He straightened up and pointed to the fridge. "Want me to make you something to eat?"

Although her stomach was growling in agreement, Shiori thought to Suga's earlier promise of pancakes. She had to jerk herself out of the downheartedness that came from the unfufilled promise. "Where did Suga-kun go?" Shiori peered at the doorway, waiting for him to walk back through it any second now.

An uncomfortable look passed across his face before he schooled his features. The note that Suga had given Mochizuki was in his hand, but then he slipped it into a pocket. "Suga-kun said that he had something to take care of and asked me to watch over you." This new information struck Shiori as familiar.

Sakuma helped her up and into the chair. "He must be thinking that's something's up...and trying to protect me from it in secret" she whispered, not specifically talking to anyone. "Why does he have to do this again?" Shiori stared hard at the ground, trying her best to not let the sadness show in her face.

"Did you say something, Onee-san?" Sakuma asked, her expression happy but at the same time concerned. After a pause, she inquired about something different. "What...what happened last night?"

Shiori examined Sakuma closely. The young girl had gone through so much recently, had experienced terror and fear all because of Shiori returning to Azakawa Village. Pulling the middle schooler back into those dark memories would accomplish nothing. Shiori wasn't about to let her go through any more horrific moments. "It was a bad dream, but everything should be okay." Though she said that, Shiori had a feeling that it was far from okay.


	8. Chapter 8

Following that troubling morning, the amount of sleep that Shiori acquired each night continued to decrease. The nightmares came every night now and each one was more intense than the last. It had come to the point where sunsets brought her nothing but fear. After the third day of waking up screaming, the fear had grown too much for Shiori to handle. She decided to stay awake each night for as long as she could manage. It didn't help that Suga was no where to be found. Not even Officer Mochizuki knew where he was.

A week after the first night, Shiori was struggling with the simplest of activities. She nearly burnt the mansion down when she tried making herself breakfast. Then the next day the brown haired girl would have tumbled down to her death on the stairs had Mochizuki not been there to catch her. Sakuma and Mochizuki had sent to her room to sleep after that, but even then she couldn't. It's when the sun was sinking below the horizon that things got worse.

Shiori was sitting cross-legged on her bed, staring straight at the wall but not really seeing it. She knew that her body and mind needed rest, functioning correctly would be impossible without it. The only problem with that was that her heart quivered with panic at reliving all the horrors. Every nightmare that she's had ranged from being alone with the spirits or losing Suga to them. Losing the one she loved was the most terrifying one. Although Shiori had dreamt about nearly every frightful thing, there was one being that she had yet to dream of. It was something that she hoped she never would.

A lone cup of coffee stood on one end of the table against the wall. It had been placed there about an hour ago and then forgotten till now. When her eyelids grew too heavy to keep open, Shiori sluggishly dragged herself off her bed and to the table. She gripped the mug with both hands lest she dropped it or splashed the contents onto the wood below. Thankfully the cut on her palm had healed nicely, now it was just a faded, red line across her skin. All at once the brown haired girl chugged down the contents with a grimace. It was plain, black coffee without anything to sweeten it. Plus, it was so cold that it was hard to swallow.

"It doesn't even have much of an effect anymore," Shiori mumbled. She set the mug back on the table and returned to her bed. The world was constantly spinning and Shiori stretched herself out on the blanket to try and ease the dizziness. For a split second she closed her eyes, but she snapped them open almost instantly. "Can't...go to sleep," she slurred. Shiori rolled onto her back and focused on the cracks in the ceiling. "Have to...stay awake."

That's when she heard it.

It was highly pitched laughter, possibly cackling, that sounded feminine. At first it was quiet, Shiori could barely hear it, but it quickly became louder. She sat straight up, then clutched her head when everything tipped side to side. The bone-chilling laughter was on the brink of insanity. It caused Shiori's entire being to quake. It wasn't just the laughter that scared her so. The fact that Shiori was still awake and fully conscious meant that this noise had to be real.

The brown haired girl struggled to get out of her bed and room, but her legs had decided to stop working right at that moment. There wasn't enough energy in her body to force her paralyzed body to move. Shiori glanced around her, searching for the Kotori Obake's ghostly form. When she couldn't spot anything like that and the laughter continued to echo in her mind, taunting her, her paranoia increased. Shiori covered her ears with her hands, trying to block out the ghost's voice. The cackling seemed to grow louder because of her actions.

"Stop," Shiori whispered, her eyes flitting from one end of her room to the other. "Please stop." She reached for her pillow to help block out the sound when she spotted a crumpled piece of paper next to it. A cold feeling slid over her ankle, like fingers groping at the limb. Shiori looked down and shuddered when she saw nothing there. The moment she glanced away, the touch persisted.

Shiori shakily reached for the paper, desperate for a thread of sanity to ground her. From the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a bit of a near translucent figure. The brown haired girl knew she wouldn't see anything if she turned her head in that direction. Snatching up the slip of paper, Shiori pulled herself into the corner. Nothing was going to sneak up on her.

With trembling fingers, she uncrumpled the note and reread what Suga had written for her on the first night of the nightmares. "Call me if I need you?" Shiori said the written words aloud. "Well I need you right now…" She squeezed the note in both hands like a lifeline. The woman's voice stopped laughing and began speaking.

**FOUND YOU. MY CUTE, LITTLE CHILD. THERE'S NO ESCAPE.**

"SUGA-KUN!" Shiori screamed as loud as she could. A sense of deja vu filled her when the door was slammed inwards and Suga came running in. The instant that he did, all the noise fell silent. The darkly dressed man bounded over, face full of determination, and swept her off the bed. He cradled Shiori against his chest, glared around the room, and then strode swiftly out of it. His long legs allowed him to travel the distance to his room on the first floor in a short period of time.

Upon reaching his room, Suga gently set Shiori onto his bed and kneeled before her. He moved his hand to his pocket and the girl thought he was going to pull out his memo pad. She was surprised to see him take out a simple silver chain with a blue stone on it instead. Suga unclasped it and encircled the jewelry around Shiori's neck. He hooked it so that the stone was nestled cozily in the crook below her collarbone. "For your protection," the tall man murmured hoarsely.

With the sense of danger fading, Shiori noticed the dark circles underneath his eyes and the fear for her within the black irises. Her lips trembled with suppressed emotions and she flung her arms around the man in a tight embrace. "Where have you been?" she cried out, some tears escaping from her iron wall holding them back. "You just disappeared all of a sudden and were gone for days."

Suga fidgeted beneath her before she felt his hands slip across her back. At the start, his hug was loose and hesitant, but when everything that had just happened sunk in his hold became constricting. Right then, Shiori didn't mind. She even burrowed her head under his chin and breathed in, feeling a calmness set in. "I'm...sorry, Shii-chan." The soft voice came from above her. "Making the necklace took longer...than expected."

Shiori drew back as far as Suga's tight grip would allow her. She stared at him for a good minute before leaning forward and brushing her lips against his. The entire time Suga was gone, Shiori had realized how much she depended on the man. All the fear she had gone through helped her make up her mind about revealing her feelings to her childhood friend.

"S-Shii-chan…?" Suga stuttered, his entire face a deep shade of red.

"Thank you, Suga-kun." Shiori's own cheeks were red as well and she had a hard time looking at him straight in eyes.

Silence fell between the two and the brown haired girl didn't know if that was a good or bad sign. Suddenly, Shiori's head was tipped back and Suga pressed his lips against hers. It was a hesitant peck that didn't even last five seconds. But soon after that he went in for another kiss and this one lasted longer. It was obvious that neither of them had much experience in this department, but the affection was there. Shiori's eyelids fluttered shut as the kiss continued on. It ended when air ran out and the two pulled away with flushed cheeks, panting. Suga stood up from the floor, wincing slightly. His legs had fallen asleep while he was kneeling.

Shiori started to move to help him, but he held a hand up that stopped her. She settled back down and began fidgeting with the blankets on the bed. "Suga-kun?" The tall man peered questioningly at her from the corner of his eye. "Can I sleep here tonight?" Suga's expression of shock made her immediately go into an explanation. "B-because I don't think I'd be able to sleep in my own room without remembering."

Suga looks at her with understanding and then gestures to the floor. "I'll sleep on floor. You...can have the bed." Although his actions are meant to be gentlemanly, it only made Shiori frown.

"The bed is big enough for both of us," she weakly argued, the adrenaline that kept her awake was fading fast. "Please...Suga-kun?"

As she slowly lowered her head to the pillow, she watched Suga move to the edge of the bed and sit down. He started to stroke her hair that had a soothing effect. When his hand came close to her face, Shiori couldn't help nuzzling his palm."Sleep, Shii-chan." She heard the smile in his words, along with the shyness.

His voice sounded hypnotic to Shiori and she struggled to stay awake. She grasped at the hem of his shirt, wrapping her fingers around it tightly. "Sleep here," the girl breathed out. "And...keep your promise...about pancakes…" The longer Shiori talked, the more her words slurred together.

"I promise." That was the last thing she heard. Suga getting into the bed was the last thing she saw. And the last thing she felt was his arms wrapping around her shoulders, causing that comforting warmth to spread from where he touched. Finally, Shiori let herself fall into a deep and restful sleep.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading my story. I fell in love with these two when I played the game and I noticed how little fanfiction there were. So I decided to make my own. This story can end here, but if you want me to continue I've got a couple of ideas that can really make this story something. Or, I can start on something completely new for these two. Just tell me what you want, and I'll try to do my best. Oh and, I'm sure people already know this, I don't own Forest of Drizzling Rain, I just love writing stories for this cute couple!

-Alex


	9. Chapter 9

Shiori awoke the next morning from insistent tapping on her shoulder. She cracked her eyes open a smidge and glanced in the general direction of the touch. Suga was there, sitting on the edge of the bed like he had been last night. He was watching her. The moment he saw her awake, a tiny, but affectionate, smile appeared on his face. Shiori's cheeks warmed up from that sight and she pulled the covers over her head.

The brown haired girl heard Suga's muffled chuckle and gripped the sheets harder. "Good morning, Shii-chan," he murmured softly. Suddenly, Shiori thought she was acting childish compared to Suga's calm demeanor. So, with her face probably still colored pink, she peeked out from underneath the blankets. "Shii-chan?"

"Morning, Suga-kun," she mumbled almost incoherently. The tall man stretched his hand towards Shiori's face, but he stopped just short of touching her. Hesitation filled his eyes and he blushed with embarrassment. Shiori took his hand and brought it the rest of the way. A shiver ran through her body when Suga trailed his fingers from her ear to her neck. After a minute or so had gone by, Suga cleared his throat and withdrew his hand. He gave Shiori a note and sat back, waiting for her to read it.

_How are you feeling?_

She drew herself into a sitting position and tested her body out. Everything moved stiffly, but energy had returned to a majority of her limbs. Another positive sign was that the world remained stationary and her head didn't throb. It was obvious that Shiori wasn't completely rested, but she was better than she had been in days. "An improvement that's for sure," she answered his inquiry.

Suga nodded and rose from his position on the bed. He held out a hand to help her and she took it without thinking about it. When she was on her feet, he spent the next several seconds examining at her. Before Shiori could ask what was wrong, the tall man squeezed her hand and then began leading her out of his room.

"Where are we going?" Shiori asked as they left his office and headed into the kitchen. The first thing she spotted was the fact that all along the counters were baking supplies. She discerned flours, eggs, milk, and many other commodities. "Suga-kun?" Her hand was reluctantly released and Suga turned sideways so that she could only see half his face. In his grasp was another slip of paper, which he showed her.

_The promise we made._

Shiori looked up from the note, to Suga, then to the overflowing counters. Her eyes widened as realization dawned upon her. "You mean...we'll be making pancakes?" Without waiting for a response, she hugged the tall man and squeezed him as tightly as she could. "You're keeping your promise," she whispered into chest. "Thank you."

A blush instantly sprung onto his face from her affection, but he didn't make any motions to push her away. Shiori released her hold on Suga, reddening herself, and pivoted till she was facing all of the supplies. She pushed up the sleeves of her nightshirt then realized she didn't have something to keep her hair out of the way. There weren't any hair ties on her wrists and her orange ribbon was still in her room where she had last left it. Suga caught Shiori's frustrated expression and wrote a quick note to her.

_What's wrong?_

Shiori frowned as she told him about her predicament; although, telling him made it seem foolish. "I don't have anything to tie my hair up with." Suga's eyes flitted from her face to her hair, confusion blooming in his eyes. The brown haired girl opened her mouth to recall her issue; however, Suga stopped her.

He held up a finger and exited the kitchen, returning just as quickly as he left. In his hands was a length of fabric. It wasn't anything shabby but it also wasn't fancy. It was just a simple, black, piece of fabric. Suga questioned her with his eyes, and Shiori turned her back to him in reply. The tall man took a step closer so that she could feel his breaths on the back of her neck. Her skin prickled as he began brushing all her hair into one hand. When he was sure that he had every strand together that he could get to, excluding her bangs, Suga tied the fabric around it.

Shiori trailed her fingers across her hair and deemed it good enough. She spun around and reached upwards to give Suga a swift peck. A smile tugged at her lips when his face changed from various shades of red. "Thank you again, Suga-kun."

For the next half hour, the two were mixing together ingredients and pouring the mixture onto a skillet. Suga volunteered for flipping duty, but Shiori remained close by his side to ensure nothing was burnt. It was a safety precaution. Whenever she spied a pancake ready to be flipped, she would start repeatedly poking the tall man's back. The first few times he had glanced at her appreciatively and then would flick the pancake over. After the fifth time Shiori did this, Suga turned all the way but this time with an annoyed expression.

The brown haired girl smiled at him innocently and he returned to the pan with a huff. Since the man was now watching the stove intently, Shiori thought that she didn't have to keep as close an eye on him anymore. She moved to the dining table and got comfortable in the chair where she could still observe Suga. For the first time in a while, the silence wasn't awkward or tense. It was comforting.

Folding her arms on the table, Shiori rested her chin on her forearms. But when she heard a soft clink, she pulled back and looked down. Swinging slightly as it hung was the blue stone necklace that Suga had given her. Shiori lifted the stone up carefully to inspect it in more detail. It gave off a healthy glow that told her that the charm was working at full strength. That fact made any last remnants of fear dissipate.

As she lowered the chain and returned her attention to Suga, she discovered him following her movements over his shoulder. He glanced at the skillet to guarantee that the current pancake on it wasn't burning before reaching for his notepad. With one hand holding the spatula, he used the other to write on the paper and then tear it off.

_Do you like it?_

"Of course," Shiori responded with a tender look. "It makes me feel safe," she admits after a pause. Her finger unconsciously brushed across the stone. The corners of his mouth lifted and he had a pleased expression. That's also when the brown haired girl noticed smoke billowing from the stove and pointed at frantically. "Suga-kun!"

Suga whirled around and was startled to see a black chunk where the pancake had been. He scooped it up and threw it onto a nearby empty plate. The look of pure shock on his face made Shiori struggle to keep in her laughter. She clutched her stomach and leaned forward as the chuckles slipped out. The tall man glared at her but then looked away sulkily.

Shiori took note of this and pushed down her amusement. She wiped away the tears that had gathered in the corner of her eyes and stood from the chair. Suga had his back to her, so the brown haired girl tip toed silently to him. The second she was close enough, she slid her arms around him. Her arms were long enough that she could grab her own hands, feeling Suga's cover hers. "It's alright, Suga-kun, there's enough batter to try again. Besides," she peeks her head over his shoulder, "I'm sure it still tastes amazing."

Suga's face glowed red and he avoided looking at Shiori. Despite these actions, his hands on hers tightened. "Thank you, Shii-chan," he mumbled. Unable to resist the urge, Shiori went up on to her tip toes and kissed his cheek.

What neither of them were aware of then was that the worst hadn't yet come. The blue stone, jostled by Shiori's every move, cracked ever so slightly.


	10. Chapter 10

After Shiori and Suga filled their stomachs with a pile of fluffy pancakes, and a single charcoal one, they sat in the living room area and talked. With her appetite taken care of, the brown haired girl felt more of her strength return. While she was leaning against Suga's shoulder, dozing off, Shiori realized that she was still in her night clothes. She excused herself, blushing bright red while doing so. Before she ran to the stairs, Suga brushed a hand along the side of her face. He told her that he'd be cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. His words had a double meaning to them. _I'm close by if you need me_. Shiori squeezed his hand affectionately and her eyelids fluttered shut.

"Understood," she whispered, replying to his literal words and hidden message. As Shiori headed up to the third floor, she paused in front of the room containing the books on the history of the Kotori Obake. "Maybe I should take another look at the books," she wondered to herself, then promptly shook her head. "No, I've already read through them so many times that I can recite each book exactly by heart. I wouldn't find anything new." With a dejected expression, the brown haired girl continued into her room. Everything was how it had been left last night: sheets rumpled on the bed and pillow in an obscure position.

When Shiori was pulling her shirt on, she remembered the underground library that Suga and herself had stumbled upon. There were tons of books down there, one of them had to be about the Kotori Obake! Although, from what she could recall the writing was in a different language. Shiori threw on the rest of her clothes and was reaching for her orange ribbon when she thought of the black fabric already there. It was still nicely tied up in her hair, so she decided to keep it in.

"Should I tell Suga about the library?" Shiori asked herself as she stood in the center of her room. Guilt would undoubtedly eat away at her if she didn't. But the fact remained that the tall man would be against her going back to such a dangerous place. "Maybe if I explained it to him properly…" If he had been hesitant to allow her to search for Sakuma when she ran away, then he probably wouldn't let her go now.

With her decision made, Shiori opened the top drawer of her desk and took out from it a black pen and a notebook. She would, at the very least, leave the man she loved a note telling him where she was. So he could find it easily, Shiori planned on placing the note on the receptionist desk.

Shiori carefully took the stairs down, intent on avoiding the steps that creaked. She sidled against the wall next to the set of stairs that lead to the ground floor and listened. Footsteps approached her position and the brown haired girl grew worried that someone was going to go upstairs. But at the last second they veered away, and she heard the office door open and close. Waiting several seconds in complete silence, Shiori went down the steps when she felt that the coast was clear.

Just as she had set down the note on the desk, the front entrance swung inwards. In walked Sakuma with her school bag hanging from her arm. She froze instantly when she noticed Shiori. Her mouth began to form the obvious question and Shiori panicked. She held up a finger to her lips as a signal for the young girl to remain quiet. She then pointed in the direction of the kitchen and together they quietly moved into it. Once they cleared the doorway, Sakuma let loose her questions, "What are you doing, Onee-san? Should you really be up and about? Why are you acting so sneaky?"

"I'm all right, Sakuma. Please don't worry," Shiori assured the young girl. But the expression on her face was one of utter disbelief. "I know that my recent behavior and actions make my statement less than believable, but Suga's been helping me since last night."

Sakuma's eyes widened. "The manager is back?"

The brown haired girl nodded, smiling slightly. "And now that I'm a little more rested, I've realized that something is going on and I need to get to the bottom of it." Hesitation bloomed in her chest, did she really want to bring the middle schooler into this?

"Onee-san, please let me help you." Sakuma must have seen the hesitation in her eyes because she reached for Shiori's hands with a pleading expression. "If I can do anything, then let me."

Shiori let out a deep sigh of resignation. "Promise me this first, if anything happens you'll run to safety. No trying to be a hero, especially when it comes to the supernatural." She waited until the young girl agreed before she continued on. "I'm not sure that this thing with the Kotori Obake is over yet. So I have to go to the library underneath the well. "

Fear almost immediately filled the middle schooler's face and Shiori already began to regret having told her anything. "Are you sure?" she whispered quietly, as if she were afraid her voice might conjure the woman's ghost.

"No, I'm not," the brown haired girl admitted. "But it's the only explanation for the things that I've been seeing lately. And you also know how stubborn Suga-kun can be. I know that he won't let me go to that library if I just ask him. Which explains the sneaky bit."

Sakuma's brow scrunched up in thought. She only relaxed it after a minute or so had passed. "Let's do this," she said with newfound determination. "If Onee-san needs to go there, then we will." There was a fire in her eyes that eliminated the fear that had previously resided in her. "Does Onee-san know how to get there?"

Instead of answering, Shiori walked over to the door at the far end of the kitchen and tried to open it. She wasn't surprised to find that the knob wouldn't budge. Suga had locked it again and she didn't have the key anymore. "Hmm, we might have to go to the well behind the mansion. The rope that Officer Mochizuki used should still be there." Sakuma and Shiori looked at one another and an agreement passed between the two. They slipped out of the kitchen and made their way to the backyard. Thankfully Suga didn't leave his office while they went through the entrance hall.

When the two girls couldn't find the door that lead to the back of the mansion, they ended up squirming through an open window. Dark clouds hung overhead, threatening to release a downpour of rain. Both girls shivered as a cold wind blew around them. Shiori brought the middle schooler to the well and peered into it. Sure enough the rope had been left alone and was still tied to one of the posts. It fell down into darkness, towards the bottom that neither Shiori nor Sakuma could make out. "Is this it?" Sakuma mumbled, craning her neck to get a better view.

"This is it. Are you ready?" Shiori asked the young girl, giving her a sympathetic look. "You don't have to do this, Sakuma."

Sakuma shook her head fervently. "I want to help you, Onee-san. Let's go."


	11. Chapter 11

The climb down the rope was terrifying to say the least. Darkness surrounded the two girls as they moved and the light from the well's opening was slowly diminishing. Shiori regretted not having brought a flashlight along with them, it would have been helpful right now. Sakuma and Shiori shimmied their way downward while trying not to bump into one another. The rope was damp, which made sense, and hard to grip, so the journey became twice as difficult. Shiori had gone first, to catch the middle schooler if she were to slip and fall. When her feet slipped off the end of the line, she froze and then whispered above her.

"I think we've reached the bottom, Sakuma."

There was some rustling before she heard Sakuma's soft voice. "What now, Onee-sam?"

The brown haired girl thought back to Officer Mochizuki coming down the well and what he did. "I think...we have to let go. There should be enough water below us to break our fall." She heard the water sloshing beneath them, but she didn't know how far the fall was going to be or if there really was enough water.

"Okay," Sakuma murmured shakily, the single word echoing in the pitch blackness.

Shiori's arms began to ache with exertion, she wasn't used to this kind of physical activity. She figured Sakuma was fairing just as bad, maybe even worse. Before the girl released her grip, she squirmed down the rope as far as she could. Even like that, Shiori couldn't touch the water. Stretching her leg didn't do anything either. "Okay, I'm letting go now. Wait until I've given the all clear before dropping down too," she informed the middle schooler. The shadows amplified the sound of her taking in a deep breath and holding it.

Letting go of the rope wasn't easy, but when Shiori did the fall lasted only several seconds. Bone-chilling water welcomed her at the bottom, completely surrounding her and breaking her fall. The brown haired girl's head broke the surface and she gulped in huge breaths of stuffy oxygen. "Onee-san?" called Sakuma, her voice strained.

"I'm here," Shiori shouted as she propelled herself to where she thought the shore was. "It isn't much of a fall and there's plenty of water to act as a cushion. You don't have to worry."

"So I can let go now?" The middle school's words grew fainter with each one.

Shiori felt the rocky edge brush against her fingertips and proceeded to pull herself up onto relatively dry land. "You can let go," she puffed out. "Just be careful, the water is freezing cold." After a few seconds of silence, she heard another splash from where she had come from and then a soft gasp. "Are you all right?"

It took some time for Sakuma to respond to her, "I-I'm okay, Onee-san. Where a-are you?" There was a hint of panic in her tone. "I can't s-see a-anything."

"Just follow my voice, Sakuma. Don't be scared, feel in front of you until you touch rocky edge. That's where I am." Shiori kept whispering encouragements until she heard noises right beside her. The brown haired girl reached down and grabbed Sakuma's arm, dragging her up onto the dry land. They sat there regaining their energy, leaning against one another. Shiori was the first to recover, so she got up and held her hand out to Sakuma. "Are you ready to keep going?"

The middle schooler panted for oxygen but still managed a nod. Shiori took hold of the young girl's cold hand and began leading her through the underground labyrinth. For the most part, her memory served as a map that guided them to the exit. Although walking through the darkness was a struggle, the two girls managed to get to the pathway that lead into the underground structure. As soon as they passed that point, the candles that were hooked on to the walls casted enough light that Sakuma and Shiori could finally see. They glanced at each other and smiled.

"The library is just up ahead, across a stream of water," Shiori assured the young girl. Cool air raised goosebumps on her skin and she shivered. They'd have to immediately get somewhere warm after finding what they needed. If they could. After crossing the ladder bridge, it was only a short distance to the library. When they entered the chamber where the pedestal was located at, Shiori paused in front of the raised ground. She knelt down and ran her palm over the stone, praying to the child spirit that had saved Suga and herself. "May you both be happy in the afterlife," the brown haired girl murmured under her breath.

"Onee-san, what's wrong?" Sakuma questioned by the next door. Shiori quickly stood up, shook her head, and continued into the next room.

Upon entering the library, she could tell that nothing had been done to tamper with it. Books where still scattered about the floor and covered in a thick layer of dust. "Could you start picking up everything from the ground and inspecting them, Sakuma? I don't want to miss anything," Shiori requested as she headed to the shelves. The next few moments were spent in silence, broken only by the occasional rustle of papers. Most of the writing was in that unknown language, exactly as Shiori had predicted. And the literature that was readable didn't say anything beneficial. "Have you found something in those papers?"

"No, there's absolutely nothing here, Onee-san." Sakuma flipped over a piece of paper, her eyebrows furrowed. "There's so much that doesn't make any sense."

Shiori set the book she had in her hands onto the desk and tapped her chin in deep thought. In her mind, she reviewed all that had happened before the final encounter with the Kotori Obake. All of a sudden, an almost forgotten detail resurfaced. "Sakuma, there's somewhere that I need to check out. Could you stay here and keep looking while I go?" An uncertain expression presented itself on Sakuma's face. "I won't be gone for long, I promise."

The middle schooler reluctantly agreed and said, "Come back quickly." She watched Shiori leave and a tremble began in her hands.

From her memories, Shiori recalled the smaller section of bookshelves in the underground living quarters next to the purification chamber. That's where she and Suga had discovered the way to help the Kotori Obake. Shiori felt hope bubble up inside her. There had to be something useful in that room.

She whispered a thank you when the door had been left unlocked. To be able to briskly return to Sakuma like she promised, the brown haired girl hurried to where the books were located. She skimmed through each of the books that she could read and reread the book that Suga had shown her. Unfortunately, no matter where she searched, she couldn't find anything that explained the source of her nightmares.

"What is going on?" Shiori said to herself, her words tinged with desperation. "Though a book about the aftermath of purifying the Kotori Obake...of course something like that wouldn't exist." She slowly returned the current book to the shelf and sighed. Suddenly, Shiori heard a noise come from beyond the door. Her body froze, but her mind went straight to Sakuma who was still out there. "Oh no!" The brown haired girl ran to the door and flung it open. Without even a pause, she rushed out and ended up slamming right into a solid, black chest.


	12. Chapter 12

Shiori bounced back into the room and landed on her butt. The tumble causing her to fall into a daze. She shook her head to clear it and then lifted it to see what she had run into. What she saw made her face go ashen. Shiori clumsily got off the floor and brushed the back of her jean shorts to rid it of any dirt.

Suga was positioned right outside the doorway, his eyes hard and jaw set. His entire being radiated anger, so much that it stifled Shiori. The tall man took a slow step inward, clearing the door, and Shiori followed with a step backwards.

"Suga-kun, I-I know you're mad," the brown haired girl stuttered. "But I can explain all of this." A blank expression remained on his face, not a single emotion flickered across it. A sinking feeling grew in Shiori's stomach as she watched the man. The moment Suga moved forward again, she stumbled back. Her heel got caught on uneven ground, prompting the brown haired girl to lose her balance. It didn't register in her mind that she had been falling until she was in Suga's arms, a few centimeters from the floor. "T-thank yo-" Shiori's words of gratitude were interrupted when the darkly dressed man lifted her and threw her over his shoulder. She gasped in pain as the bone there dug into her abdomen. "S-Suga-kun!?"

He ignored her inquiries and effortlessly carried her through the purification chamber and into the cave area. Shiori could feel Suga's tightened muscles moving underneath her hands. The feeling of guilt was really gnawing at her insides now. As they continued onward, the brown haired girl observed water droplets fall from the tips of her hair in short bursts. They landed on either the cracked tile or Suga's clothes, creating darkened splotches. It was at that moment that Shiori realized how cold she truly was. Her hands and legs were quickly losing feeling and her teeth started to chatter uncontrollably.

Several seconds of being in that embarrassing position ended when the two arrived in the library. Suga set her down long enough for him to get a good grip on the rope that was in front of them. In those seconds, Shiori looked around the room for Sakuma but couldn't find any signs of her. Suddenly, without even a word of warning, the tall man picked her up and began climbing. Progress was slow, but Suga didn't falter a single time. "I'm sorry, Suga-kun," the brown haired whispered against his shoulder.

At the top of the rope, Shiori was thrust upwards and passed on to a new set of hands. They pulled her the rest of the way. Once she was settled onto solid ground, a blanket was wrapped tightly around her body. Unfortunately, the blanket alone couldn't warm her up. Shiori watched Suga clamber up from the opening in the floor and approach her. When he was close enough, he scooped her up but gentler than earlier.

Shiori ended up being set on the couch with a piping hot mug of hot chocolate. The steaming mug itself managed to defrost her fingers, but the rest of her body was still practically a chunk of ice. Beside her sat Sakuma, also a shivering mess. In front of the two girls were Mochizuki and Suga, both of which were giving off a frustrated aura. The officer began to pace back and forth, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. "What were the two of you thinking?" Mochizuki questioned, his voice taking on an authoritative tone.

Suga was as still as a statue next to the couch, a silent yet menacing presence. Shiori peeked at him from the corner of her eyes but hastily looked away when she saw him staring intently at her. His expression was unreadable, which caused the burning in the back of her throat to intensify. When Mochizuki noticed that neither of the girls were talking, he stopped his pacing and instead sat on the coffee table before them. The piece of furniture groaned under his weight and Suga glanced at it before refocusing on Shiori.

"Well?"

Shiori cleared her throat and all attention was on her. She clutched the mug in her hands tighter. "This was all my idea, Mochizuki-san," the brown haired girl admitted, resting her chin on her chest. "I wanted to check the records in the underground library, and I took Sakuma along with me. "

"But I went willingly!" Sakuma shouted, nearly jumping up and dropping her own hot chocolate. Mochizuki gave her a look that made the middle school shrink back.

A silence filled the room that made Shiori feel less than confident. After some time had passed, Mochizuki released a long breath of air, deflating. "You know how dangerous that place is, don't you Shiori? I'm sure you haven't forgotten what happened there already. And what could have happened."

Shiori's eyes widened and she looked away, squeezing her eyes shut. "Of course I haven't. There's no way that I could." The brown haired girl sensed Suga tensing beside her. "I'm sorry, Mochizuki-san and Suga-kun, for worrying you."

Mochizuki stood up from the small table and smiled weakly. "As long as you promise to never go down there again, okay?" Shiori nodded slowly. "But it was smart of you to leave a note, otherwise we wouldn't have known where to find you." The Officer lifted the piece of paper that Shiori had left behind. "Now," he turned to fully face Sakuma, "let's quickly get you home." When the middle schooler opened her mouth to protest, Mochizuki held up hand. "No arguments, I'm taking you back now. I promise to not tell your parents what happened here today."

Sakuma frowned, tsking as she got off the couch. She set her empty mug on the coffee table and turned towards Shiori. Her lips tugged up into a small smile. "Onee-chan, I'll come back tomorrow."

Shiori returned the smile as best as she could and watched as the middle schooler was escorted from the mansion by Mochizuki. She slumped forward, the remaining energy in her body draining away. The untouched hot chocolate in her hands was no longer hot, so Shiori placed it next to the empty mug. Shivers ran through her body every now and then, so she drew the blanket closer.

All of a sudden, Shiori was lifted up into the air and plopped down onto something warm. She doesn't realize what it was until arms encircled her, pulling her towards the source of warmth. "Suga-kun?" the brown haired girl murmured. She would have acted more shocked had a wave of drowsiness not overcome her.

"Don't...fall asleep, Shii-chan," Suga said against her neck, his nose nuzzling into her ice cold skin. His hands squeezed her arms tighter. Shiori noticed a slight tremble in them. "Shii-chan…" he repeated stronger.

The warmth from the tall man helped, but it still wasn't enough. A chill remained deeply rooted in her bones, making the brown haired girl sleepy. "I'm so tired...Suga-kun." Her eyelids became increasingly heavy.

Suga rubbed up and down Shiori's arms to create friction that would warm her up. "Stay awake, Shii-chan." All his efforts did was jostle her around. As Shiori's head hung limply on the tall man's shoulder, her eyes fluttered shut and she fell into another dream.


	13. Chapter 13

The instant Shiori opened her eyes, her vision was filled with gray and green. Droplets of rain fell from the darkening clouds above. They were watery arrows that blended in with the sky, making them invisible. The girl flinched every time water splashed on her face but otherwise remained motionless. A strong wind caused the tree leaves to dance, and a wave of water came cascading down. Shiori wanted to roll out of the way, but it felt like some force was pressing upon her, immobilizing her.

"Why...am I in a forest?" she inquired to no one. "Wasn't I just on the couch with...Suga-kun?" As the words slipped out from her lips, they were carried away by the breeze and vanished.

Suddenly, the weight that had been holding her down was lifted. Shiori slowly sat up, rubbing the water off her face, and peered around at her surroundings. Everywhere she looked she got a sense of familiarity from the trees and shrubbery. It couldn't be...

Shiori glanced at the ground and noticed a slight indent of a path in the grass. "This is...Azakawa forest!" The realization came quickly, followed by confusion. "But what am I doing here?" Lack of sunlight gave the forest an ominous atmosphere and the shadows moved as if they were monsters of the dark. Goosebumps appeared and spread all over Shiori's arms. The back of her neck prickled, small hairs standing on end.

Another wind blew through the trees, this time it carried the sound of a woman crying. It resonated such a pitiful and mournful tone, that tears pricked the corner of Shiori's eyes. She unfolded her legs from underneath her and pushed herself up until she was standing. The crying was so faint that the girl could only hear it when the wind picked up in her direction. From the second breeze that came through, she knew the cry came from deeper within the forest. Shiori hesitated going, but the despair in the voice nudged her to go forth.

And so she did.

The further the brown haired girl went, the darker the forest seemed to become. It came to a point where she could have easily mistaken it to be nighttime. A few feet ahead of her, the path widened considerably and a river could be seen running along it. Shiori stopped next to the stream and listened for the cry. In that spot, she no longer required the use of the wind to be able to hear the woman's crying. It still wasn't crystal clear, but she figured that this was the correct way.

"But farther in that way is…" A feeling of dread grew in Shiori's heart as she finished the sentence in her mind. She knew where the voice was leading her to, and she didn't like it one bit. The brown haired girl tried to turn back and return the way she had come, but her legs continued onward. It was as if her limbs had gotten a mind of their own, or an unseen force was making them move. Shiori fought the urge with everything she had, though she only managed to slow down the progress.

Traveling through the forest completely against her will was especially terrifying for Shiori. That feeling of terror only grew stronger the closer she got to the small dock in the center of Azakawa forest. The place was filled with bad memories, memories of running and unimaginable fear. And now she was being forced to go there once again.

As soon as the path opened up into the forbidding clearing where the dock was located, the crying ceased to exist. Shiori struggled against her legs as they took her to the docks themselves. "Oh please no," she whispered desperately when she was a few steps away from the wooden edge. The brown haired girl shakily kneeled down and looked into the murky water.

At first all she saw was her own reflection, distorted from the ripples created by the rain, but then it changed. A big wave obscured the image so it was only a mixture of colors and shapes, nothing identifiable. When the surface calmed down, the person that stared back at Shiori wasn't herself anymore. It was the Kotori Obake in her blood soaked kimono.

Shiori gasped and attempted to pull back away from the water, but the power that brought her there also kept her in place. It wasn't just her legs out of control now, her arms also weren't listening to her anymore. "Let me go, please," the brown haired girl pleaded to whatever was controlling her. It obviously wasn't paying her pleas any mind.

The strength in Shiori's arms suddenly gave out and she tipped dangerously forward into the water. This fall into the water was different than the fall into the well, this one was paralyzing. All her joints locked, making it impossible to swim back to the surface. Shiori drifted downwards into the dark depths of the pond with no way of escaping. Fear took over her mind and she carelessly opened her mouth to scream, only to let the air in her lungs escape. She gazed in panic as the bubbles rose up and away.

A woman with long flowing hair glided in front of Shiori, her hand reached out to caress the side of the girl's face. Tears streaked her cheeks, tears of crimson. The ghostly woman smiled but the sight of the twisted expression filled Shiori with hopelessness. Since the woman's form was translucent, the brown haired girl watched as the surface grew smaller with each passing second.

And then, the Kotori Obake began to make small noises. It took Shiori's oxygen deprived brain longer to figure out that she was actually giggling. Or at least that's what it was at first. The giggles quickly turned into insane cackling. When Shiori's consciousness was on the verge of blinking out, she heard the words that turned her blood into ice.

**I HAVE YOU NOW, MY CUTE CHILD.**


	14. Chapter 14

It was cold, so very cold. Shiori thought that her entire body had been replaced with a chunk of ice, fixed in that one position. Lethargy tugged at the edges of her consciousness, and the idea grew increasingly tempting. All the brown haired girl had to do was let go and she the cold sensation would disappear. A feeling of peace settled inside her chest. Shiori was about to sink into oblivion when a voice shattered the darkness around her.

_Wake up._

"Who…" The brown haired girl thought weakly, her consciousness crawling slightly out of the shadows.

_Don't leave._

The voice sounded so familiar, so much that a name was at the borders of her memory. It struck a chord in her heart and longing enveloped her. She wanted to be with the owner of that voice. Shadowy hands created from the darkness formed chains that took hold of her arms and legs, keeping her from reaching out.

_Shii-chan!_

She fought those chains that held her until she felt them give way. A bright light shone above her and Shiori strained towards it. It seemed so far away, but she knew that it was her only option out of the obscurity. The more she stretched, the closer she got. White filled her vision as her fingers brushed against the light. As soon as she touched whatever it was, it surrounded her in heat.

* * *

Shiori gasped awake and her eyes snapped open. An artificial light stared back at the girl as her heart slowed down from it's panicked state. She was so disorientated that she couldn't figure out where she was. Warmth surged around Shiori like a warm blanket. It was especially focused on her back, like a mini source of heat was right behind her.

A face appeared in front of Shiori from over her shoulder. But rather than a female face, this one was masculine. Seconds passed without realization clicking in her mind. It wasn't until she heard her name whispered from that face that she connected a name with it. Shiori was that befogged.

"Shii-chan?" The voice was barely louder than a whisper and shook with emotion. Shiori recognized it as the same one that had spoken to her in the darkness, saved her from a fate of fading away.

The brown haired girl reached upwards with a trembling hand. "Suga-kun...?" When she touched his cheek, he leaned into her palm and tears spilled from his eyes. Suga's silent crying turned into uncontrollable sobbing. Alarmed, Shiori sat up only for a sharp pain in her brain to bring her back down. She clutched her head tightly as little needles pricked at multiple points in her mind. "Ugh."

Shiori didn't notice what Suga was doing until he gently stroked his fingers over her temples. His hands were cool compared to her heated skin. He pulled back and rested his chin on her right shoulder. Although the tears had slowed down, water still trailed down his cheeks. The soothing motion managed to make the throbbing fade and Shiori slumped back onto the source of warmth. She froze when all the dots finally connected. Suga had been the source of heat from the very beginning. When the brown haired girl peeked back, she discovered that his torso was completely bare. Does the tall man even realize the situation they were in?

All at once, Shiori's face exploded with color. She felt her cheeks heat up quickly. "S-Suga-kun? What's going on?" The stutter in her voice was unavoidable, she was too embarrassed at that moment.

"You-" Suga choked on his words and tears. His arms constricted her, becoming something close to a death grip. The darkly dressed man hid his face in the side of Shiori's neck. She felt a wetness before hearing the louder sobs. Shiori was not expecting this kind of response. She thought he'd blush and become sky, not becoming a pale and shivering figure.

Whatever happened, the tall man's reaction told Shiori that it wasn't anything good. "Suga-kun, please tell me. What happened?" As Suga tried to compose himself, she took in where she was exactly. The two were still on the couch with a blanket wrapped around them, the exact same blanket that Mochizuki had given her. An old heater sat on the ground nearby, positioned so that it produced a wave of heat towards them.

Instead of answering her question, Suga twisted Shiori's face and kissed her. His lips were fiery compared to her cold ones. This kiss went on longer than all of the others they've shared before. There was also desperation in his touch. It was almost as if Suga were trying to reassure himself that she was truly there. Which he was. "I nearly lost you…" he finally whispered after they broke apart from their embrace.

Shiori's entire face was bright red from the kiss, but the tall man's words caused her to instantly pale. "How?" She forced herself to remain calm, taking deep breaths to steady her heart.

Suga searched the room and then leaned forward, shifting Shiori in his arms. He grabbed his signature pad of paper off the coffee table and looked sheepishly at her. Answering the question with words must not be easy for him. The tall man scribbled onto the paper and held out the entire pad in front of Shiori.

_You were soaked when we found you. The cave's cold temperatures did not help._

She noticed a quiver in his hand while he held the note. "I'm sorry," Shiori whispered. Going down into the underground library was an impulse, there was no preplanning. And now she had to face the consequences.

Suga ripped off the note and set it on top off the blanket. The point of his pencil was on the paper, ready to write, but the tall man kept it there. Whatever he wanted to say next must be very difficult to get out. When he finally decided how he was going to write it, each letter was written slowly and carefully.

_Your entire body was frozen stiff. You-_

The tall man left the sentence unfinished and instead pressed his face into Shiori's shoulder. Shiori combed her fingers through his black hair and kissed the crown of his head. "You don't have to say anymore. I get it." The brown haired girl stared at the last word and imagined the rest of the sentence in her mind. A thought came to her all of a sudden; she had to tell Suga what she had experienced while unconscious. It wasn't something she could hide from him. "Suga-kun...I saw her again." Shiori didn't have to explain herself, Suga knew who she was talking about because he tensed behind her.

"Where?" That single word came out clipped and stern. Suga grabbed Shiori's upper arms and turned her body forcibly so that she could easily see him. The tall man tugged back an edge of the blanket far enough that it revealed the top part of her chest. Below her neck, pulsing a faint blue, was the silver-chained necklace. Both of them finally took notice of the crack in the stone. Suga's eyes widened and he shuddered. "Where...did you see her again, Shii-chan?" His voice left no room for argument.

"In a dream," she mumbled the answer, her gaze still fixated on the cracked blue stone. "While I was unconscious, I dreamt I was in the forest by the small pond with the dock. Where it all started." Shiori lifted her chin and stared at Suga with shock filled eyes. "In my dream...I was being pulled deeper and deeper into the water's depths." Retelling what she went through brought the suffocating feeling bubbling up. Before she could continue, Shiori had to take a deep breath to push down the panic. "That's when I saw her, the Kotori Obake."

The darkly dressed man was silent for a while, his eyes unfocused. "Shii-chan…" he started, his voice lowered. "You can't stay here."


	15. Chapter 15

"What are you trying to say, Suga-kun?" Shiori weakly questioned, her mind unable to wrap around his words. The tall man's expression did not leave room for jokes, so she knew he meant what he said. Upon realizing this, the brown haired girl flew off his lap and shook her head vigorously. "No, I'm not leaving."

Suga stood up slowly with the blanket in his grip. He spread the fabric and stepped forward with it stretched out in front of him. "Shii-chan...listen to me."

The brown haired girl remained still as he wrapped the blanket around her, but she kept her gaze away from his. "Why?" she whispered, her brain struggling to comprehend his reasons. All at once, the times that she had gone against Suga's orders and caused him to needlessly worry crossed her mind. And then his words made sense. Shiori had to be too much trouble. "I'm sorry…" She lowered her head so that it was downtrodden and turned her back toward him.

Shiori managed to take only one step before large hands grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. The quick movement jarred her, the effects heightened by the fact that she was still recovering from her near hypothermia. Her legs wobbled and she would have tipped over had Suga not been there to support her. Everything spun in her vision, Shiori had to rest her forehead against the tall man's chest till the room returned to its original position. She as aware of words being spoken to her, whispered into her ear, but she wasn't able to make them out until the buzzing faded. "Don't...apologize," Suga murmured softly.

"M-me being here is bringing you nothing but trouble," Shiori fumbled, her throat thick with unshed tears. She tried to step away from Suga so he wouldn't see her weakness, but without support the dizziness came back full force. His warm hands gripped her forearms and lead her back to the couch. Suga lowered Shiori onto the cushions and then stepped into the kitchen. While he was gone, the brown haired girl let her head fall into her palms. She stared at the notes Suga had written lying on the coffee table, rereading them.

When the tall man returned, he was carrying a glass of water. Suga settled down next to Shiori and handed her the water. "Drink," he ordered, his eyes focused intently on her face.

Shiori took hold of the cup but her fingers were trembling so violently that liquid kept spilling over the edges and landing on the blanket. Before every drop of water ended up on the fabric, the glass was taken out of her grip and pressed against her lips. Suga held the cup gently, tipping it ever so slightly. The brown haired girl gingerly sipped at the liquid until her parched throat had recovered and the thick feeling faded. "Thank you," Shiori gasped after Suga took the glass away. A note that she hadn't noticed before rested on his knee.

_Being here is the reason for your pain. Staying means that you will always be tormented._

His expression as he handed her the slip of paper was of forced nonchalance. Shiori recalled back to the time when she had first arrived at Azakawa Village, even then he wanted her out of the village immediately. But that was to protect her from the memories buried deep inside her subconsciousness. Memories that, if remembered, would have given her to the Kotori Obake. Once again he was trying to protect Shiori by facing the danger on his own. And just like then, she wasn't going to leave his side.

"Suga-kun." She brought her hands up and caressed the sides of his face. "Do you truly want me to leave?" Suga's eyes widened. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. "The truth." Shiori used his own words against him. Those two words triggered tears to rise up and be on the verge of spilling over. When she saw this, Shiori used the pad of her thumbs to wipe away the water as it fell. "You really are such a crybaby, just like in the past," she mumbled fondly.

Suga gripped her wrists tightly, but loose enough that it didn't hurt her. He bowed his head so that she couldn't see his eyes and sobbed With quivering shoulders, Suga shook his head back and forth. "Don't want...don't want you to go." His voice grew progressively softer with every word. "Stay...here…"

The moment Shiori heard his words, she dragged Suga's head to her chest. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. From the corner of her eyes, the brown haired girl watched the tall man flail before hesitantly resting his hands on her lower back. The tips of Suga's ears were bright red and she couldn't help giggling inside. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise," she whispered into his black hair. Hearing those words caused Suga to stiffen.

"Is she still...here?" Suga questioned, his voice slightly less shaky than before. "The stone is cracked, which means-" He stopped himself from admitting what they were both afraid of.

"It can't be the Kotori Obake," Shiori confessed. "She was put to rest, we saw that ourselves." The brown haired girl pulled herself from the embrace and Suga's hands slipped lower to her hips. The fact that he didn't remove them didn't go unnoticed. She tapped at her chin and stared into the tall man's eyes. He held her gaze for several seconds before giving in and blushing.

"Shii-chan-" Suga didn't finish his sentence as Shiori threw out an idea that made him double-take.

"I might get answers if I go to the pond in the forest," she said, doing her best to keep her eyes steady on Suga's. From outside, Shiori heard the pattering of rain against the windows. It made her think back to her dream, how it was raining in it as well. Deep in her heart, a thought called out to her, connecting that moment to the illusion. Suga opened his mouth and Shiori fully expected him to reject the idea. She knew that if he said no and told her to remain inside, she would listen to him.

_Only if I'm with you._

Shiori's eyes popped open and she inspected his face to insure he wasn't lying. "You mean...we can go?" Her heart shivered with fear at the thought of the pond, but she was confident that going would produce the answers she wanted. And with Suga by her side, not even the darkest of shadows could

_Going with you means I can watch over you._

After reading the note Suga had presented, she smiled and flung herself at the man. Her body was trembling from a combination of fearful anticipation and the cold. "Thank you," Shiori softly murmurs against his neck. The two remained like that for several minutes, reveling in one another's affection. It was Shiori who dragged herself away and stood up first. "I'm going to get changed and then we can head out."

She didn't notice Suga's eyes grow bigger, but when she started toward the stairs he grabbed her wrist. Unable to move, the brown haired girl turned her head to see behind her. Suga was staring at Shiori with a mixture of shock and worry. He remained silent, opting to communicate with his look.

"Suga-kun?" This reaction confused Shiori, until it connected in her mind why he was acting that way. Mere moments ago she had nearly frozen to death, and now she wanted to immediately go out into the cold rain. Suga was scared that it would cause her condition to worsen and that he wouldn't be able to save her. She was about to tell him that they could wait till tomorrow to go, but then thunder rumbled loudly outside. With the thunder came a sudden urge, she had to go that day. There was a feeling, similar to the one in her dream, that pushed her to go. "Suga-kun, I'll put on warmer and dry clothes. Everything will be okay." Suga saw the persistence and determination in her eyes and he allowed her hand to slip from his grasp. Shiori grimaced at thought that this was causing him pain, but she wanted to experience quiet and peaceful days with Suga. Days without fear looming at the edges.


	16. Chapter 16

It took Shiori a few minutes to peel off her damp clothes, the fabric sticking to her like a second layer of skin. She folded each article of clothing in half and set them ontop of her desk. When she returned from her outing she would put everything through the washer and dryer. In her closet, Shiori pieced together another outfit similar to her original one. But before pulling the new set of clothing on, the brown haired girl used a fresh towel to wipe away any stray water droplets on her skin. Warmth returned to her limbs once she was completely dry, she even felt nearly normal when she had on clothes that weren't soggy.

By the time she had returned to the reception room the rain had slowed down to nothing more than a drizzle. Suga stood in front of the double doors leading outside, inspecting a new sword that he must have recently forged. Shiori slid onto the last step and stopped, watching him for several seconds. Her fingers reached up and unconsciously traced the blue stone. As her fingers passed over the smoothness of the rock, a calmness ebbed into her heart and soothed any remnants of fear in it.

The darkly dressed man lifted his head from his inspection and finally took notice of Shiori on the stairs. His face was a near blank slate, a slant to his eyebrows the only point betraying his true emotions. Shiori remembered this exact expression from the night she had recently arrived at the mansion and Suga had tried to convince her to leave. Looking back on it and everything that had transpired, the brown haired girl felt a sharp pang in her chest. Suga nodded a greeting but otherwise said nothing. Shiori smiled brightly and stepped off the stairs, making her way to his side. The tall man looked down at her silently and gave her a once over, taking note of the new set of clothes. In the hand not holding the sword was a folded up black umbrella. Shiori chuckled at Suga's preparedness but was thankful for it at the same time.

"Stay by my side. Don't ever go off on your own," Suga grounded out, leaving no room for Suga to argue. Which she had no intention of doing.

Instead of replying, the brown haired girl sneakily slid the umbrella out of his hand and took a small sidestep so that her hip nudged his thigh. "Understood, Mr. Manager." She stared up and gave him a confident filled smile. "We'll be glued at the hip."

Suga's cheeks brightened until they were a shade of crimson red, the first real emotion he'd openly shown Shiori since she'd cme down the stairs. He quickly turned his back towards her to hide his face and opened the front doors, allowing muggy air into the mansion. Shiori walked past the blushing man out to the front steps, unfolding the umbrella as she went. "Shii-chan…wait." The brown haired girl glanced over her shoulder back to the doors. Still clutching the doorknob, Suga watched Shiori with eyebrows scrunched up in concern. He suddenly disappeared back into the mansion but reappeared a split second later. Shiori saw a coat thrown over the darkly dressed man's arm as he exited the mansion, closing the door behind him.

"Taking extra precautions it seems." She made it sound less like a question and more as a matter of fact statement. Before Suga had the chance to give her his signature disapproval look, Shiori exchanged the umbrella for the coat and slipped her arms into it.

Suga nodded, now satisfied. He held the umbrella up so Shiori could step underneath it. Taking the opportunity, she sidled up to the darkly dressed man as far as she could manage without being basically on top of him. Suga attempted to hide his embarrassment, but she was still managed to see the tips of his red ears. Shiori placed one of her hands over the one Suga was using to hold the umbrella and squeezed it affectionately. In response to her touch, the tall man peeked from underneath his bangs, his eyes full of care and concern for the brown haired girl.

After that short exchange, the two of them walked around the bushes in front of the mansion and along the side of the building on a well hidden path. They were mostly silent, content on listening to the light pattering of the rain on the plastic umbrella. A breeze picked up as they moved through the forest, sneaking several droplets underneath the umbrella to land on Shiori's cheeks. Just as the brown haired girl was going to wipe them off, Suga leaned down and used the pad of his thumb to brush the water away.

Shiori blushed heavily heatedly and ducked her head down. "Thank you," she whispered. The tall man nodded, the corner of his lips twitching upward. A few minutes passed again without either of them saying a word. It wasn't until they crossed the temporary bridge over the river and reached the forest that the silence was broken. Suga grew tenser with each step further into the forest. Shiori noticed the tension in his shoulders and tried to murmur reassurances to the man. "Suga-kun, there isn't anything to fear. "

He glanced warily between the woods surrounding them and Shiori, unsure of what to say. Without much of a warning, Suga dragged the brown haired girl by her hand till her back was flat against his chest. "Shii-chan..." He held her there for several seconds, nuzzling his nose into the side of her neck, before releasing his hold. Shiori craned her neck around to look up at Suga but his hair effectively covered his eyes.

The wind blew stronger through the trees, rustling the leaves. Shiori's mind wandered back to the vision she had after nearly freezing to death. Everything around her seemed eerily similar to that dream. She found herself straining her ears to hear the soft calling but was rewarded with only the whistling of the wind. Suddenly the brown haired girl felt her right hand being taken into anothers. Shiori realized right then that she had been staring off into the woods, unmoving and unresponsive, for a short period of time. Glancing back at Suga, she discovered him watching her intently. A smile tugged at her mouth and she tilted her head to one side. "Let's go, together."

There was a slight increase of pressure as Suga squeezed their hands in agreement. "Together," he repeated quietly, almost to himself. They traveled through the forest, never once letting go of each other. While Suga kept one hand in Shiori's, his right hand held his new sword tightly. Shiori noticed his knuckles turn white from the amount of pressure with which he gripped the handle. There was something here that Shiori couldn't sense but Suga could, and from his reaction it wasn't anything good.

As they entered the clearing located right before the entrance to the pond, the brown haired girl stopped the tall man. "Suga-kun, whatever happens in there-"

Lips on hers interrupted Shiori mid-sentence. Her eyes widened before they fluttered closed. The kiss was sweet and filled with so much love that it had Shiori gasping and crimson faced afterwards. As Suga pulled away, Shiori wished the kiss had lasted longer. Upon opening her eyes, Shiori noticed the grim expression the darkly dressed man wore and the longing his eyes that didn't fit the image. "Whatever happens...we go home together," Suga stated with such intensity that Shiori couldn't have disregarded him even if she had wanted to.

"Of course," she whispered breathlessly, her lips twisting into a wide smile. "That was what I was going to tell you." The darkly dressed man flushed and stuttered out apologies. Shiori just giggled and took hold of Suga's hand again, dragging him further along. "Come on, we'll pop in quickly and then go home for some more hot chocolate."

Suga trailed behind her, becoming progressively damper because he was no longer shielded by the umbrella. The brown haired girl marched them through the trees and closer to the pond. They stopped several feet from the dock. Now that Shiori was here, all of the joy and confidence that had once existed inside her drained away leaving only fear and dread. Despite the knowledge that the Kotori Obake had been put to rest, there was still an ominous atmosphere to the water. It pressed down on Shiori's chest, suffocating her. The blood splatters on the dock had remained prominent, the rain doing a poor job of washing them away. "Shii-chan...there's something here." Suga pushed her behind him, lifting his sword into a fighting stance.

Warmth blossomed in the center of Shiori's chest at the sight of her childhood friend and now lover being so protective. That feeling gave her the strength to step around him and approach the water. She sensed every muscle tense in Suga when he saw her move away from him. He instinctively reached out for her, but Shiori stopped him. "I have to do this, Suga-kun." She twisted her head so she could see the tall man. "For us."


End file.
